I'm surprised that the anticipation is killing me

We've been having a week or two with our Cocoa and some health issues. *heavy sigh* 
I'll have to update soon, but right now, she is stable. 

***

Thank you for all your sweet words and condolences regarding my very special Uncle Alan.  We got through his memorial service. I was terrified to get up and speak, but I felt I needed to do this for him; it was actually a beautiful day with family remembering a wonderful man. 

***

Kelly and I have talked for years about taking a girls trip together. The boys don't have an issue planning a weekend away; car shows, ATV trips, more car shows...they always have a good time and we knew we'd have fun as well if ONLY we could just plan something.

But we couldn't decide.

We chose to have a surprise trip.
We chose for strangers to plan the trip because we couldn't choose a destination ourselves.

We found Pack Up and Go.

Our friend Marcia said she wanted to go on a girls trip too.
Then our friend Michelle said she'd love to join us.

So, we're about to pack up and go this Friday morning.

WHERE?

WE DON'T KNOW!
That's the beauty of it. They plan your trip; flights, hotel, (loose) itinerary.

We've had some clues of things to pack and weather that we may encounter, but other than that....we're clueless.
Being clueless is something I excel at.

We'll find out our destination when we arrive at the AIRPORT on Friday morning.

Really. 
For reals. 

We're really excited. We may end up in Jonestown, OH. (that's the Coach's guess)
But hey, I've never been to Ohio.
No matter where we end up, we'll have a good time.

I'll let you know next week where they send us...and I'm sure there will be a lot of laughs.

Wishing you a good surprise or two this weekend.


XOXO

The family is dwindling

This past weekend my Uncle Alan passed away; he was my Dad's younger (and only) sibling. He's always been pretty special to me.
He was essentially the caretaker of my G'ma ever since I can remember....even when she really didn't need a caretaker, but she liked having someone in the house with her. He was always kind, sweet, pleasant and goofy. You know the type; never had a bad thing to say about anyone or anything, but could tell fart jokes on the hour.

 He was an amazing bowler and honestly, he lived such a simple life. He played on many leagues and was in the newspaper countless times for his 'perfect' games. He worked in a grocery store, bowled, attened chuch, loved his kids and grandkids and enjoyed watching sports. No internet. No cell phone. No drama.

He loved to pick on me, especially about all the silly things I did as a kid. Which I really only did one or two things as I was nearly perfect.

Suz and Uncle Alan circa late 80's. 

 Some of my longtime readers may recall that he got married almost 5 years ago to his Junior High sweetheart. Wait, does anyone still read my blog? Anyhoo....my heart breaks for his widow.

My Dad, Suz, and sweet Uncle Alan. Going to church circa 80's.

He was the last of my Dad's family for that generation. My uncle has two sons, my cousins that are a bit younger than I am. But, I'm getting this weird feeling that a huge part of my family history is gone now.

Of course, the first person I wanted to call after I found out after he'd passed was my Mom.
*damn*

He was still living in the house that he grew up in, the same house (Miami) that I spent countless summers at with my Grandparents. Those were some of the best moments of my childhood. He and my Dad were total opposites. Alan was kind, quiet and easy going. Total opposites.

I'll forever miss him and I'll forever always remember his silly laugh and his oh-so-corny jokes.

God speed Uncle Alan.
XOXO

That time I almost bought things that I don't need, enjoying May and all my friends are turning 50.

I hopped in my car from the gym the other day and dropped my phone in the seat next to my lap. When I arrived at my destination, I picked up my phone just in time to verify which address I wanted the 14 Amazon echo Dot's that I'd ordered to be delivered to.
What the what?
Yeah, my thigh thought we needed those.
*that was a close one*
Smartphones might be a little to easy to work where my leg is concerned.

It's May! Well, it's actually May 4th.
I always enjoy May; it brings Mother's day and our wedding anniversary.
And this May, we have a weekend with our besties planned, then I have a 'surprise destination' trip with girlfriends and we also have a date with Billy Currington. All.GOOD.STUFF.


This week one of my favorite friends turned 50 and boy oh boy, does she make 50 look good. She claims that 'stress' will do that to you! Gosh do I love her and I so wish she had less stress in her life.

2018

Here we are on my 40th birthday almost 11 years ago. 

We've been friends for around 20 years; and dare I say, I think we look better now!

2007

Have a fantastic weekend doing whatever it is that you do on the weekend. If you need me, I'll be enjoying friends, the Coach and perhaps a margarita. Cinco De Mayo baby!

XOXO

Waiting by the phone for HGTV to call and being the victim of a hate crime.

So, for years and years the Coach and I've talked about flipping properties. Houses, condos, whathaveyou.
We did such a beautiful renovation on our house and I figured HGTV would be at our door in a minute to feature us on their new spin-off channel: Everything Suz Does Is Fabulous.
I haven't' come up with the entire show line up yet, but some ideas for them would be:
Bee like Suz and keep your sh*t tidy
or
Let Suz teach you how to organize your closet by season and color so you don't appear to be clinically insane.

While I'm waiting for them to come knocking on our door, we completely renovated a small condo on the bay across the street from the Gulf of Mexico.
We plan on using it for seasonal rental and when not renting, we'll visit and keep our boat there.

Ya'll, it's SO stinking cute.

Cocoa and Callie wondering when they can go back to their 'real' home. 

I will eventually show real photos.

But, this post isn't really about that adorable condo that we renovated.

This post is about being hated and targeted with violence.

At this condo, there is a Mockingbird with a vendetta against ME.
Me, of all people. 
Me, the nature lover.
Me, the one who feeds the d*amn birds, squirrels, bees & butterflies.
ME!

I can't go to the garbage or recycling area without being squawked at.
I can't go to my car without being assaulted by its ravenous beak and talons.
I can't take the dogs for a casual walk without being hunted down and dive-bombed.

Y'all. I hate this bird because this bird hates me.
And this bird is making my life very uncomfortable and I'm almost as traumatized as that time I saw a photo of my 80's self, wearing ALL that blue eyeshadow and NO mascara.

I googled some information because I assumed it had a nest nearby and perhaps wanted to add some of my blonde straw hair to it.
OR it was worried that I wanted its babies. (Lord knows, I don't want to feed anything more than I already do)
Come to find out, it's probably worried about its babies and guess what else.
Mockingbirds don't attack everyone. They generally will attack the same people over and over and not necessarily everyone that comes near it.
I've asked around.
I'm the ONLY target for this damn bird.

I guess I'll hit up my realtor and see if we can move this property and start renovating another one because I think the neigbhors are tired of hearing me scream my head off 4-6 times a day.